1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to float markers, and more particularly to a marker buoy having an anchor line wound therearound which may be released to anchor the buoy at a selected location atop a body of water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Marker buoys of the type on which an anchor line is wound and later paid out by way of an attached weight to anchor the buoy at a selected location are well known in the art.
For example, in the past, the captain of a fishing boat would throw over such a marker buoy the moment fish start biting. The buoy normally consisted of an old empty plastic water jug with line wound around it, and a sinker at the free end of the line to anchor the jug. Because the depth of water varies from one location to the next, it was not usually known how much line was required to be provided around the jug. Assuming that appreciably more line was provided than the actual depth of the water, the prior marker buoy would tend to drift away from the selected location of the water's surface after the anchor weight hit the bottom of the water. This drift may have been caused by tides, water currents and winds. Since there was nothing to prevent further unravelling of additional anchor line from these marker buoys, the buoy was free to drift until the total length of anchor line wound therearound was paid out. One way of avoiding this problem was for the fisherman to have several jugs with different lengths of wound line on board, or to have a depth finder that would tell him the depth of the water electronically so that he could determine how far the buoy had moved from the bottomed anchor.
The above problem of free drift of the anchored buoy has been overcome to an extent by certain buoys which provide particular restraining forces on the anchor line after the weight at the free end of the line bottoms and anchors the buoy.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,093, issued Aug. 6, 1974, shows a spherical marking float having an annular groove formed about the periphery of its body. An anchor line is wound within this groove and a rubber band extending across the width of the groove is overlaid on the winding. According to the patent, the rubber band acts to maintain a predetermined tension on the anchor line as it unwinds from the float, and prevents further unwinding of the line from the float after the anchor weight bottoms out. It will be apparent that it is desirable to prevent such further unwinding of the anchor line, since the marking float would otherwise be free to drift from its initial location as explained above. However, it will also be realized that the use of a rubber band to inhibit further unwinding of the anchor line has certain disadvantages.
One major disadvantage in using the rubber band as taught in the 3,827,093 patent is that the band does not always exert enough of a retaining force on the anchor line to prevent further unraveling of the line in reasonably rough and choppy seas. This problem becomes even more acute upon deterioration and drying out of the rubber band under strong sunlight, excessive heat and salt spray. Also, it is of great importance that the band be properly placed in position about the wound line for proper operation of the patented buoy.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,962, issued May 6, 1969, also shows a float marker having an annular recess within which an anchor line is wound. The annular recess is defined by an elastic liner ring which opens outwardly to allow the line to unwind from within, while a predetermined retaining force is imparted to the line by way of the liner ring and both halves of the float marker, which act to compress the ring as the halves are tightened towards each other by a threaded rod and wing nut. It will be appreciated that as the anchor line unwinds from the liner ring, the retaining force imparted thereto may vary appreciably as the line continues to be withdrawn from within the ring and the volume of line within the ring decreases. Also, slight wear of the outer lips of the ring will greatly affect its ability to frictionally retard any free outward movement of the anchor line.